In memory of our brother and son, Robert Bagnell,
who died moments after being tasered by police in Vancouver, British Columbia on June 23, 2004. Bob was the 7th Canadian to die and the 110th in North America.

WELCOME to TRUTH ... not TASERS

Saturday, May 07, 2011

Attorney Daniel Lapointe Kent: "A great injustice has been done," Kent said. "It doesn't make sense to require someone to go through what can only be characterized as some kind of dangerous rite of passage."

We agree.

May 7, 2011Robert Annis, IndyStar

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former deputy who said he was wrongly fired by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department after refusing to receive a shock from a Taser.

Ray Robert sought reinstatement, back wages and punitive damages, saying a back condition led him to refuse mandatory training that included a one- to five-second jolt from the stun gun.

U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson disagreed, saying in her ruling earlier this week that Taser exposure "does not result in long-term damage and teaches deputies first-hand the effects of the Taser . . . that might otherwise be abused."

She added, "Its unique nature justifies specialized education and training that can be done with little risk of injury during training."

Robert's attorney, Daniel Lapointe Kent, said he would appeal.

"A great injustice has been done," Kent said. "It doesn't make sense to require someone to go through what can only be characterized as some kind of dangerous rite of passage."

Tasers temporarily incapacitate suspects by delivering five seconds of 50,000 volts of low-amperage electricity through two barbs shot into the body from up to 21 feet away.

Hamilton County requires all deputies to carry Tasers, including civil deputies such as Robert who serve court papers and generally are not directly involved with law enforcement.

Police agencies often maintain that it's important for officers to experience the Taser's shock so they will show restraint in using the device. Most training programs give officers the choice of being shot with the barbs or receiving a shorter jolt through a pair of alligator clips attached to a pant leg.

Robert, who filed the lawsuit in 2009, said two doctors, including one chosen by the Sheriff's Department, advised him against receiving the shock. He feared the electrical jolt and ensuing muscle spasms could further injure a damaged vertebra and a metal plate in his back.

When Robert refused, then-Sheriff Doug Carter offered him a job in the control room at the Hamilton County Jail.

Robert, who had retired as a merit deputy in 2007 and was earning a pension in addition to his salary as a civil deputy, refused the new job. Carter fired him in December 2008.

"It wasn't a 'reasonable accommodation' as required by law," Kent said. "The control room (in the jail) is where they send people in trouble, where employees sit in front of a computer screen all day.

"It's much different than being outside in a patrol car serving papers."

But Magnus-Stinson said the Taser exposure was "essential to the role of civil deputy process server . . . (and) Robert's inability to participate in the training and, consequentially his inability to use a Taser, render him unable to perform his essential job functions."

She added that Robert's back and other physical ailments would actually make him better suited for the control room job offered by Carter.

Sheriff's Maj. Tom Gelhausen said Friday that of 200 deputies and employees who had the training, only one reported an injury when the probe hit the person's skin.

"There is a discomfort level," he said. "You're being neuromuscularly incapacitated, so you stop whatever you're doing. . . . It's important to teach officers the firsthand effects of the Taser. They need to know what can happen if it's taken away and used on them and how quickly the combatant can recover from a shock.

"It deters the officer from abusing the weapon. It's also important so the officer can bolster his credibility at trial."

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taser-Related Deaths = 1043+ in North America

See "A LIST OF THE DEAD"According to Taser International, the taser had nothing to do with any of these deaths. According to a Reuters investigation, Shock Tactics - Part 1 - The Toll, published on August 22, 2017, more than 150 autopsy reports have cited tasers as the cause or contributor to deaths across the U.S. That number may be higher; however medical examiners and coroners are often not impartial but are instead biased in favour of the Crown or, as has been shown, they are under tremendous pressure from - among others - Taser International, to make a particular finding.See Judge rules for Taser in cause-of-death decisions

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Taser International finally admits risk that their weapons may affect the human heart

RCMP - TASERS POTENTIALLY LETHAL

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My Brother - Robert Bagnell June 27, 1959 - June 23, 2004

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2) Until such time as independent and unbiased study into the "real world" safety implications of Tasers has been properly completed, a moratorium must be imposed upon these weapons.

3) If, after independent and unbiased study has been completed, the Taser is going to remain in the police arsenal, it must be placed at a level equal to lethal force on the continuum of force and used only as a second-to-last resort.

4) Safety standards must be developed for Tasers. There are currently no Canadian safety standards in place for this weapon.

5) Police must not be allowed to investigate themselves but must be subject to independent and unbiased civilian oversight.

6) Families of people who die in police custody in Canada must be provided with funding so that they may be properly represented by legal counsel.

07. Robert Bagnell, 44 – Vancouver, BC - June 23, 2004 - X26 - "Official" cause of death: Consistent with restraint-associated cardiac arrest due to acute cocaine intoxication and psychosis. Bob's autopsy report showed marks on his body consistent to multiple taser shots, which incidently could not be affirmed by the pathologist because she could not explain those marks.

09. Samuel Truscott, 43 – Kingston, ON - August 8, 2004 - X26 - "Official" cause of death: Heart attack cause by drug overdose and "I can state categorically that the Taser did not play any role whatsoever in his death" said Chief Coroner for Ontario, Jim Cairns

24. Michael Langan, 17, Winnipeg, MB - July 22, 2008 - tasered 1 time - the autopsy report says Langan's death was caused by a heart arrhythmia brought on by the Taser shocks

25. Sean Reilly, 42 - Brampton, ON - September 17, 2008 - Peel Regional Police - X26 - tasered 2 times - the inquest jury will determine the official cause of death, however, “the forensic evidence indicated that the force used by the officers, including the Taser discharge, did not contribute to his death"

27. Trevor Grimolfson, 38 - Edmonton, AB - October 29, 2008, X26 - According to sources, after he was pepper sprayed, Trevor was tasered directly on the chest 5 times and tasered on the back of the neck 2 more times - Edmonton police said he was only tasered 2 times but testing on the tasers proves otherwise - "Official" cause of death: excited delirium brought on by drugs

29. Grant William Prentice, 40 - Brooks, AB - May 6, 2009 - RCMP - tasered 2 times - "Official" cause of death: acute cocaine toxicity and "the medical examiner also concluded the taser did not play a role in the death"

Ain't it the truth!

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80% percent of the population could be moved in either direction

Human rights activist Susan Sontag, when asked what she had learned from the Holocaust, said that 10 percent of any population is cruel, no matter what, and that 10 percent is merciful, no matter what, and that the remaining 80 percent could be moved in either direction.

THE Successes AREN'T the Problem

"The issue is not whether or not the taser can be used in a high percentage of cases to reduce death and/or physical trauma to officers and civilians alike. The issue is whether or not it's OK to kill the rest through ignorance and rationalization just because it's a small percentage ... The successes aren't the problem - the failures are. They're being told that tasers are nonlethal, so they blast away until people can't move. They're killing people by accident." Dave Siegler, father of Raymond Siegler, who died on February 12, 2004

The artistic side of Robert Bagnell

WE KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE

ROBERT ANGLEN

Robert Anglen, a reporter with The Arizona Republic, documented the first 167 Taser-related deaths. Mr. Anglen launched a journalistic investigation of Taser International, linking the Taser to multiple deaths, among other eye-openers.

At the 2005 Arizona Press Club Awards, Mr. Anglen won first place in the Investigative reporting category. He was the recipient of the Don Bolles Award for his report entitled "Taser tied to 'independent' study that backs stun gun'. “As part of an extraordinarily thorough investigation of Taser International, Anglen uncovered ‘smoking gun’ documents that showed the manufacturer was heavily involved in the key study that purported the devices are safe. Anglen also uncovered conflicts of interest and documented wide-spread problems with Taser safety — a matter of national and international public interest.”

In 2006, Mr. Anglen was a runner up for the Arizona Press Club's Virg Hill Journalist of the Year award. Peter Bhatia of The Oregonian wrote “Robert Anglen is an investigative reporter, pure and simple. Clearly, he is a reporter who, once he sinks his teeth into something, stays with it until the story is done. His ongoing work around the company that makes Tasers speaks to that."